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Monday, April 13, 2020

Monday Morning Sentimonies: The Greatest 0-9

In my ongoing effort to produce content
on a sports blog in a world with no sports (at least until I can find way to
get monkeys delivered to my house and start a monkey knife fighting ring in my basement)
I have come up with an idea that will eat up many weeks. Well, truth be told, I
stole this idea from someone else and made it my own but lets not dwell on
semantics.

Today I launch a series dedicated to
chronicling the greatest Roughriders to ever wear every number between 0-99.

A few notes about this listing. First, its my list and any arbitrary criteria I use to determine who the best at any
given number is completely up to me. You don’t like it? Start your blog….
Actually, wait! Please don’t. I don’t need more competition. Second, I will
warn you that my choices will be heavily biased to players in the 2000s. Those
are the ones I’ve seen play the most and am most familiar with. Third, I’m not
big on things like research and effort, so its entirely possible I miss someone
obvious and important not intentionally but just because I didn’t think of
them. Please direct your corrections and outrage to comments sections.

Alright, enough gabbing let’s get to the
first 10 people on the list.

0 – Look, 0 is a stupid number. I get that its people trying
to be different and cool but the only way you are being different is by being
dumb. 2 players come to mind who have worn 0. One is current Rider Elie Bouka.
He’s alright but nothing special but your winner is DL – Tobi Antigha From
a sack getting DE to an intercepting safety dude was a swiss army knife with
the D-Coordinator perfectly suited to capitalizing on his diverse skillset.

1 – OK onto the real numbers. Lots of great Number 1’s over
the years (such as Sandman, Hank before we all hated him). But for me one guy stands
out above all the others RB – Kory Sheets. He was dominant. I remember
after a solid 2012 season he said he was out of shape and vowed to be better.
Turns out he was right and 2013 his quest for 2000 yards was something to
behold.

2 – I was extremely surprised to find out what an underwhelming
history this number has had. I mean sure, once we get to the 70s they’ll be
some weaker choices but number 2? The best options I could come up with were
Barrin Simpson, Jason Armstead (circa 2009), Corey Grant and Terryl Ulmer. Now all
of these players have some level of merit but none can be considered obvious
choices. I’m going to go with DB Terryl Ulmer based purely on longevity
compared to the rest.

3 – One of the best CB’s I’ve ever seen was DB – Omarr
Morgan. He did where #1 in his second stint with the Riders but we can all
agree that his first stint was the best. I’ll never forget his game winning
blocked FG to beat Edmonton.

4 – There are 3 very deserving candidates at this number.
Kerry Joseph who won a Grey Cup and was the last Rider to be named League MOP.
Paul McCallum. Hate him all you want but prior him becoming public enemy #1 in
this province he was an outstanding kicker. But for me the winner here is
clear. 3 Grey Cup appearances, 1 Grey Cup ring, the most successful Rider QB
not named Lancaster… QB – Darian Durant.

5 – This one is an obvious choice and has me getting outside of
my 2000s bias. Take a look at the Rider passing records and if any are not held
by Ron Lancaster, they are held by… QB Kent Austin. Grey Cup, only Rider
to pass for 6000 yards. No question he was one of the best players we ever had…
and he would be the first to tell you that.

6 – Obviously the first name that comes to mind is Rob Bagg. But
in my mind I was like “sure but there’s gotta be someone better”. I have come
to the conclusion, that there is not. Closest I found was Derrick Armstrong,
who was arguably more talented but was only around for 2 season. So WR Rob Bagg
is it. Heart and soul guy. Over comer of adversity and super brittle knees. Solid
Canadian receiver.

7 – Some very deserving options here. Willie Jefferson is
hands down one of the most dominant players I’ve seen. Richie Hall also wore #7
and he did alright for himself. But this one goes to a guy even more diminutive
than Hall. WR - Weston Dressler. He packed more talent and effort in his
5’7 frame then guys who were twice his size. He burst onto the scene in a game
in Hamilton in 2008 and permanently into our hearts.

8 – This number seems to attract a lot of very underwhelming QB
prospects from Tino Sunseri, to Ryan “My Eyes will eat your soul” Dinwiddie to
Marcus Crandell (though at least Crandell enjoyed some success). My choice is
an RB. Before Cates and KK the run game ran through RB Darren Davis who amassed
back to back 1000 yard season on not very good teams. I won’t even hold the
fact that he was partially responsible for the Nealon Greene era against him.

9 – He was known simply as the Reaper (not to be confused with
the Raper). An imposing, physical tackling machine. LB – Reggie Hunt. The
one moment etched in my mind is when Clermont came across on a crossing route
and he and Hunt collided. Probably the biggest hit I’ve seen from 2 of the toughest
dudes playing at the time.